


@help

by animegurl158



Category: Sing (2016)
Genre: Angst, Crossdressing, Guns, I am sorry in advance, I laugh every time I see Big Daddy, Johnny has anxiety attacks, Slow Updates, mafia, orgin story, will mainly be angst, will try to add more chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-09-13 08:50:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9115810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animegurl158/pseuds/animegurl158
Summary: Johnnys dad goes missing and he sets out to find him. Even if it means going into the underworld.





	1. Origin

**Author's Note:**

> So this chapter is the preface to the actually story and I don't quite know how to set it up like that on my phone so... yeah. Also, I will try my best to update but, uh, I'm a perfectionist. *shrugs*   
> Also, I don't own any of the wonderful characters of sing, only the love for all of their sweet personalities.

One of my favorite memories was my mother.

 

There wasn't a lot of em’, that's for sure. One of them was about her cooking breakfast for the two of us, while dad was out “working.” I didn't know what he was doing then, but it didn't matter. Because when my dad was gone, it was just me and Mom.   
She'd always pack my school lunches and at the end of each week she'd make me a peanut butter and banana sandwich. She didn't make it everyday because “you would just get sick of it sooner.”   
“But mooom!” I would groan and grapple at the hem of her skirt. She'd chuckle and ruffle my hair with her gentle hands then lean down and hug me. “Just think of them as a reward for doing so well this week.” She'd whisper in my ear. I was usually only focused on one thing at a time as a kid and every week I would just sit in class thinking of that peanut butter and banana sandwich. I wonder if that was her way of distracting me from Dads work.

 

Mom loved to sing. It's where my love of singing came from. We'd sit at our old piano and she taught me all the scales and beginner songs. Then she'd take the helm and just experiment and sing. Playing whatever notes came to her and singing whatever words came across her mind. Her singing on the piano was an easy way to tell how she felt. When she was sad she'd play slow and sing softly. When she was happy she would sing loud and proud, her voice ringing loud enough for the whole city to hear. When she was angry she didn't play at all. She was silent. She would sit and stare out the window, counting the raindrops or clouds. 

 

My dad loved my mom. And even though he's harsh and angry at me nowadays, doesn't mean he always was. I didn't see my dad a whole lot when I was little. The only time I saw him was the few days he came for dinner. He'd rumble in, go straight to Mom and give her kiss. Which was totally disgusting when I was little, but looking back I see how much he loved her.  
It wasn't bad, back then I mean.

 

I remember when my mom died. I left for school that morning not knowing that I wouldn't see her when I came home. She seemed a little sad that day, and she even gave me a peanut butter and banana sandwich that day even though it wasn't Friday. It rained that day and when I came home all the lights were out leaving my home in a dim gray light.

 

I remember the one time I saw my dad cry.

 

It was awful. I had turned the corner to see my dad hunched over the piano. His hands clutching his face, his clothes wet and crimson, while his shoulders shook and big fat tears fell onto the piano keys. I remember feeling the room get colder, the white noise beginning to fade out, and my stomach plummet. “D… Dad?” I asked. He took one look at me before wiping his eyes, his body shuddering as he took a deep breathe. Standing up, he faced me and I can never forget the sadness locked in his eyes.  
“ I couldn't save her Johnny.” Kneeling down, he pulled me into a hug. “I'm sorry.”

 

I was about 6 years old.

 

We moved after that.

 

Growing up in a criminal world wasn't easy, but growing up without my mom was even harder. As I got older I went to school less and less, and was home schooled more and more. Dad taught me a bunch of the basic stuff, algebra, trigonometry, but Barry eventually taught me all the rest. He's a quiet but real sweet guy. By the time I was 10 years old I had stopped going to school entirely and was officially put into the gang. I remember that day like yesterday… I was sleeping in my room in the Garage when my dad started shaking me awake.  
“Johnny!” Dad whispered as he shook my side. “Wake up Johnny.” A flutter of panic overtook me, for Dad had warned me that waking me up early usually meant running from the cops or something worse.  
“Wha- what!” Sitting up quickly I checked the windows for red and blue lights. “What's wrong? Do we need to move?” Dad laughed.  
“Hahah! No, we don't Son.” I noticed the big grin on his face. Raising an eyebrow I asked,  
“Well, what are you smiling for then?” Dad laughed again, and pulled a present out from behind him and set it on my lap.  
“Happy Birthday, Johnny my boy!” I stared wide eyed at the gift. It wasn't even wrapped in actual wrapping paper, just crusty newspapers. It didn't matter though, the fact that Dad had remembered my birthday made my heart soar.  
“Aw Dad, you didn't have to-”  
“Of course I did, now come on. Open it up.” Smiling, I eagerly ripped through the paper and immediately guffawed.  
“That FTC skateboard I've wanted! Dad, I-”  
“Wait, wait,” Dad interrupted. “ there's one more present in there.”   
“Oh.” I said, while rummaging through the remaining newspaper. Feeling around a pulled at a string and what came out made my heart plummet.

 

It was one of Dads rabbit masks.

 

“Dad… I-” I stuttered.  
“Now I know what you’re thinking.” Dad began and my head shot up towards him real quick.   
“You do?”  
“Yeah, you think you're not ready, and that you're not cut out for the job but I think it's time for you to join the family business, eh?” He had the biggest smile on his face, saw the look on mine and misinterpreted it. “Now you won't be doing anything hard or nothing yet. Just some lookout jobs. You can do that can't ya Johnny.”   
I stared at Dad’s face for what felt like a century. I wanted to tell him no, I didn't want to do this. And, NO I don't want to become a part of the business. I want to do what I want to do. I love to sing. I WANT to sing. Mom would want me to sing. I felt my mind and heart setting in, ready to tell him. I opened my mouth and said:  
“Yeah, for sure.”  
“Attaboy!”


	2. M.I.A

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The official start of Johnny's search for his dad. Also AU where Johnny and his Dad didn't have their heart to heart chat at the Moon Theater.

“Gone? What do you mean he’s gone?” I couldn’t believe my ears, here I was five minutes after the big show, and the cops are here questioning me backstage. One of the hippo policemen adjusted his belt before saying,

“I’m sorry but we cannot give any information until you come in for questioning.” The man said it like a broken record, no emotion in his eyes, just an attitude to get things done. It PISSED me off. I heard my Dad’s voice in my head, telling me what to do if I would ever get caught by the cops. _“You wait for their distraction, and don’t worry Johnny, they’re always distracted. And, when they look away for a second you chop the back of the neck. Then throw down one of those smoke bombs I’ve given ya, throw on your mask and-”_

“Johnny? Is everything alright?” Mr. Moon had walked up and gently touched my arm. I blinked rapidly for a second, not realizing I had been staring the cop down for a few seconds. I glanced down at the Koala and then back behind him where the others had gathered, worried looks all plastered on their faces. _Remember you wanted to change,_ I quickly reminded myself. _If not for yourself, then for them._

“Yeah, everything’s fine Mr. Moon.” I nodded my head in reassurance, and I saw him visibly relax.

“Right, well.” Mr. Moon dropped his hand from my arm. “Just know we’re all here for you if you need anything.” I smiled before turning back to the cops, both looking impatient. The hippo that spoke before, stepped forward in agitation.

“Sir, we need you to come in for questioning to ask about your father’s disappearance.”

“Right, right.” I waved them off. “Lead the way Officers.” I learned in a flash that being in a cop car made me extremely nervous. Every minute in that car made my pulse go faster and faster, until finally we arrived at the station and the second the cop opened my door I bolted out. Sitting in a room, which I assume was for questioning, I could do nothing but twiddle my thumbs while staring at the one way mirror. _Ah Dad,_ I thought. _Where did you go?_ I hadn’t talked to my Dad at all since he basically disowned me saying:

**“How did I end up with a son like you.”**

I winced internally. The more I thought about those last words, the more the hole in my chest seemed to grow. The door across the room creaked open and a Rhinoceros lady in a navy suit jacket, skirt and heels walked in holding a pink box.

“Hello Johnny.” Her voice sounded warm and friendly, a nice contrast to all of the other stone-faced officers. “How are you doing tonight?” I didn’t quite know how to respond to that, I mean, what word, or emotion, could sum up ecstatic over my performance, freaked out over my dad missing, and heart-broken at his last words to me. So, I sat with my mouth partially open looking about as talkative as a fish out of water. The Rhino Lady raised an eyebrow as she sat down. “ Confused, it seems…” She opened up the pink box she had laid on the table. “Donut?” I frowned, and shook my head.

“Ah, sorry, yes, but confused isn’t quite-” I stopped tripping over my tongue when she shook the pink box to emphasize her question. “No, no donut. Uh, thank you though.” She shrugged, before grabbing a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles. I sat anxiously as she took the slowest bite of her pastry. Unable to wait any longer, I cleared my throat. “ Uh, miss, is it alright if I ask a question?” She raised her eyebrow again, before nodding. Folding my hands together, I glanced nervously down at the table before asking, “How exactly did my Dad just disappear?” Wiping her mouth, the Rhino lady set her hands before saying:

“First, I need to point out, as a part of customs, that my name is Ms. Peters, and I will be questioning you tonight.” I stiffened at her formality, but relaxed when she continued. “And, to answer your question, your father broke out of his cell.” My jaw dropped.

“Broke out?!”

“Yes, he then ran atop many buildings before our force lost him somewhere in the traffic.” At this point, her smile had fallen from her face and a more stern appearance had surface. “We have reason to believe that he was heading for you. For at the time of his break out, you were performing over at the Moon Theater. Wonderful job by the way.” I couldn’t believe it, Dad had broken out of jail, _for me?!_ My heart soared, _he did it for me! He really does_ \- A chilling thought came across my mind. _What if it’s just a coincidence. He probably just happened to break out at the time. Probably tired of the place already._ Staring blankly at the wall, I quietly replied.

“I’m sorry but, if you’re asking me if I know where he is, then I have no idea. The last time I spoke with him was here, and he was… not happy with me.” Ms. Peters looked a little hopeless at my news. “Is it alright if I go now?” I asked numbly. Ms. Peters tapped her fingers on the table, thinking deeply before finally nodding.

“Yes,” She stood up. “Thank you for your time Johnny.” I muttered a small “no problem” under my breathe while standing up. A second later, a rapid knock on the door was followed by a Hippo Officer entering.

“Ms. Peters?” He said. “An inmate is asking to see the one being questioned.” Ms. Peters raised her eyebrow again, I had a feeling she did that quite a bit.

“Well, I’m done here, if that’s what you mean.” Ms. Peters turned back to me. “If you would be so kind as to follow Mr. Robinson, Johnny, I’m sure after this you’ll be free to go.” I sighed.

“And, I have to do this because…?”

“Because it could be about the case, and our force would love if you could help us come up with more information.”

“Right.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buster Moon should be feeling the highest of excitement this night, but couldn't when he knew Johnny was stuck with a bunch of cops. How could anyone be happy when all you could do was worry about someone. No one else seemed to be able to shake off their worry either. After the cops had taken Johnny to the station the rest stayed behind for awhile( all except Mike, which no one seemed to be able to find). However after 20 minutes Rosita had to leave, the kids had school the next day and she couldn't wait. “Please call me if you hear anything!” She had yelled while crowding the kids in her mini-van. Ash left next after another 10 minutes also asking the others to call her if anything happened. Meena was wanting to stay, but after a while her family told her it was time to go home and Buster couldn't let the girl stay.

“ I'll call you if anything happens.” Buster promised as the shy elephant waltzed out with her family. By now it had been a little over an hour and Eddie, and Gunther, had fallen fast asleep on one of the backstage benches. This left only Buster to sit out on one of the crumpled pieces of the moon theater as he waited for Johnny’s return. He hoped the kid would come right back to tell them what happened. _But he might just go back to his family huh?_ Mr. Moon frowned. _Wait…_ Buster realized. _I don't really know about Johnny's family do I? I mean, sure, I don't know a whole lot about Meena, or ash or…_ Mr. Moon’s frown deepened. _That's not right either. Meena talks about her Grandparents and Mom a lot. Ash told me her story about her boyfriend. Rosita talks about her family all the time. But I've heard nothing about Johnny’s family, or close friends. In fact, yesterday and today are some of the first mentions of a father._ Buster stood up, holding his chin in thought. _Why have I never heard about Johnny’s family? It's not that Johnny's isn't the type of person to share. He's not a quiet guy like that. He must have a reason._ Mr. Moon was starting to have an eerie feeling about Johnny's visit to the Police.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sitting down at one of the telephone stations, I quickly grabbed the orange phone.

“Barry?!” I exclaimed. “What are you calling me for?” Barry, sitting on the other side of the glass, looked offended.

“ What? Do I have to have a reason to call you? You meant a whole lot to the rest of the gang too you know.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, while scrunching my eyes closed.

“Sorry I just- I've had a stressful night. With the theater getting threatened to close, my whole show made me nervous, and now Dad’s missing, even though I still haven't spoken-”

“Hold up Johnny.” Barry interrupted. “You mean you didn't see your Father?” I frowned, and looked at him confusedly.

“No, I just learned about an hour ago that he had disappeared and about 10 minutes ago I learned he had broke out.” Barry's eyes widened. “ Why….” I continued. “ why do you think I would've seen him?” Barry grabbed his head, a bewildered look on his head.

“I can't ruddy believe this. Johnny he broke out of here to see you!” I froze. All the hope that had fallen out of me suddenly began to renew.

“He.. what?” I couldn't breathe. _He came to see me! He was coming to see me! He cares!_

“ -omething like this would happen. Oh geez.” Barry had been rattling on while I was still lost in my happiness.

“Wait, Barry, start over. I wasn't paying attention.” I noticed the look on his face and I swear it felt like the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. “What is it Barry?” Barry moved as close as he could to the glass, the phone pressed tightly against his face.

“Johnny, listen carefully. Your dad isn't the type to just disappear and not tell anyone. Least of all not tell you.” I nodded dumbly, trying to figure out where he was going with this. “Remember that last job we did, the one where we would have been set for the rest of our lives? The one where-”

“The one where I didn't show up. Yeah, I know that one.” I shifted uncomfortably. “ You're not mad at-”

“No, honestly, I don't mind. But here's the thing.” Barry pointed at himself, emphasizing his next words. “In the past your Dad had worked with a couple of different gangs. One of them goes by the name of ‘The Night,’ yeah? Well, the guy leading them turned out to be a lot darker than we all realized, and your dad kinda left ‘The Night’ in not the best of terms. And, well, he hasn't heard from them since.” I frowned, listening to his explanation left me way more confused than Barry intended me to be.

“What does that have to do with Dad disappearing?” Barry quickly looked over his shoulder as if someone was listening to them, which wasn't far off the mark considering the police were recording every single word they were saying.

“Recently,” Barry whispered. “Your Father had gotten word of ‘The Night’ coming into town. And, with a gig like we had the other day… Everyone would be itching for it. Me and the other boys thought it a bit dangerous to just go for a big job like that without talking to a big group like The Night. But your Father always did things his way, and well you know the rest.” I sat for a second, processing his words.

“You mean to tell me…” I started slowly. “ That Dad has been kidnapped by another mob group?!” Barry nodded his head.

“I'm not just thinking it mate,” Barry poked at his head. “I _know_ it.”

My heart stopped and before I could even think it, I was sprinting out of the station. I heard some strangled yells behind me, most likely to call me back for even more questions, but I had NO time for that. I needed to think, I needed to get help, and the cops wouldn't be able too. At the first building I ran to, I started climbing, then I began swinging from building to building, I was on autopilot and the city was my jungle.

_Dads missing he needs my help._

I ran up the steps of a fire escape.

_Dads been kidnapped he needs help._

I spun myself around a stoplight before launching myself across the street.

_Dad needs help._

My panic fueled the adrenaline flowing through me. My foot slipped and I started to fall off the edge of a building before catching myself and continuing on.

_Needs help._

All the city lights started to blur together. My breathing became more quick and labored to the point of hyperventilation.

_Help._

I tripped over a pipe and tried to catch myself, but my arms refused to move. I ended up landing face first on the top of a stone building.

_Help._

I struggled to get up while my eyes began to water.

_Help._

Tears started to flow freely from my eyes, leaving a watery puddle on the stone. I curled up into the fetal position, holding my head as it throbbed from the fall.

_Someone… please…_

 

 

“Help…” I sobbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID NOT PLAN TO END THIS SAD BUT IT DID.  
> AND IM SORRY. 
> 
> I know 'the night' is a cheesy name but I needed a name and my brain wasn't very creative atm. 
> 
>  
> 
> I'll try to update as fast as I can!!  
> (Tell me if you see any typos too btw. I tried to check quick but I probably missed some stuff.)


	3. Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to add a trigger warning:  
> there is an panic attack written and I don't want anyone to be hurt!! 
> 
> Stay amazing and enjoy the chapter!

“I heard a big slam and rushed up here and there the poor thing was!” The old sloth woman croaked. “However, I recognized him from that fantastic show you had a couple hours ago. I was beside myself, I didn't know quite what to do, but I looked up your theaters phone number, I'm surprised it worked considering your theater went kaploot the other day. Anyways, he looks a little rough for wear. I wonder what happened to him.” The old sloth adjusted her glasses before switching her gaze from Johnny's limp form, to the other. “ Mr. Moon? Are you alright?” Buster had felt himself freeze into place the second he had stepped onto the apartment's rooftop. He felt his heart break at the sight before him.

Johnny laid asleep on the rooftop of the 40 floor building. His leather jacket seemed to have ripped a little bit, and his arms were holding his legs close to his body, almost as if he was trying to hide himself into a ball. The worst of it all was Johnny's face. There was a bunch of small cuts on his face that had bits of stone stuck in them. The corners of his eyes were tinged red, like he had been wiping them frequently-like he had been crying. His expression seemed stuck between deep thoughts and a painful nightmare.

Willing himself to move, Buster plastered his business smile onto his face turning to the sloth woman.

“Thank you for your call Mrs. Smith. I'll try to wake Johnny up, in the meantime do you think you could bring us some of that iced tea you were offering me when I arrived?” Mrs. Smith would've jumped for joy if she could, she hobbled back down the stairs, so excited to share her tea.

_That should keep her busy for a while._ Buster thought. _Oh, Johnny…_ Buster crouched down near the teenager. _What could have happened in the two hours you were gone?_ Billions of questions seemed to crash through Buster’s mind and he had half a mind to shake Johnny awake and wrangle the answers from him, but… Buster let out a deep breathe. _No, the kid had a rough night._ Stepping a little closer to the kid, Buster started to gently shake Johnny’s shoulder. “Johnny…” Buster paused, looking for signs of consciousness. “Hey… Johnny… Wake up…” Johnny’s face scrunched up before his eyes popped open suddenly. “Woah!” Buster startled, for the instant Johnny eyes opened, Johnny had backed up against a pipe and was twisting his head around rapidly, looking for something. To say he looked a bit freaked out would be an understatement. Buster stood up, and raised his hands in a placating manner. “Hey, Johnny, it’s just me. Buster Moon. Your favorite Moon Theater owner.” Johnny finally looked Mr. Moon in the eye, and relaxed at seeing the familiar face.

“Mr. Moon.” Johnny said hoarsely before clearing his throat and continuing. “What are you doing here?” Buster let out a small chuckle.

“I should be asking you the same question, how exactly did you end up fast asleep on the rooftop of a 40 floor apartment building?” Johnny shrugged, while not looking Buster in the eye, replied:

“Climbing isn’t really hard for a mountain gorilla.” Buster gave him a deadpan look.

“Uh-huh…” Buster put his hands behind his back. “Johnny, you do realize you are a half hour away from the police station...” Johnny really wasn’t looking at Mr. Moon now. “ Asleep on the rooftop of a building, which I hope I can assume, is your home.” Johnny was rubbing the back of his head while staring intently at the stone of the rooftop. A tense silence began to form. Buster pinched the bridge of his nose, seeming about to explode before letting out a long sigh.  “Johnny, how about we head to Eddie’s.” Buster gave Johnny a small smile. “We can bandage those cuts on your face, sleep, and then talk about what happened in the morning, yeah?” Johnny stared at Mr. Moon, looking like he was going to cry again, before nodding and standing up.

Mrs. Smith was more than happy to give the boys some iced tea on the go.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Johnny POV

 

It was raining heavily in the city, the kind of rain where no one can see five feet in front of them. I was standing in the middle of an intersection, the ground was trembling as if a constant earthquake was occurring. I gasped as a car, then a bus, then a train whizzed past, barely missing me. _Shit, shit, shit!_ My senses were in overdrive, I couldn’t jump away with the ground keeping me off balance, couldn’t run, I could barely see with the rain blocking my vision. “DAD!!” I yelled. “Dad! Where are you!?” I grunted as I leapt out of the way as a school bus rushed past, my arms scraped against the pavement. Pushing myself back up, I screamed to the sky. “Dad! Please!” A motorcycle nicked my arm and I hissed in pain. “Da-”

A huge bolt of lightning smashed into the road, inches from where I stood. I yelled in alarm, and fell on my back as a deep maniacal growl filled the air. I whimpered as a pair of giant, glaring, yellow eyes appeared in the storm.

**“You wish to find your father?”** A pair of tremendous fangs followed after the eyes, glistening red. A crazy laugh filled the air.

“ **You don’t have the guts.”** The voice slithered like a snake, and the fangs approached me slowly, widening, preparing to cut me in half. I started panicking, crawling backwards, my mind fell into hysterics.

“No! Go away!” Another car flew past as the fangs drew ever closer. I flipped from my back and onto my feet, running at full speed away from the fangs chasing me. The laughter grew tenfold.

**“Hahah, That's right Johnny. Run away, it's what you do best.”** I cried out as a train flew past in front of me, stopping me from my flee.

“No. No!” I felt a hand grip my shoulder and I flipped around. My dad stood before me, one hand on my shoulder the other on his stomach. The hand holding his stomach was stained red, he coughed and crimson rained to the floor. I couldn't tell at this point if the wetness on my face was from the rain or tears. I hastily grabbed my dad in an effort to support him. “Dad!” I croaked. “No…” I sniffed. “ I can't lose you.” My Dad slowly looked up at me, his eyes full of pain and disappointment. He coughed again, blood pooling beneath our feet.

“Johnny why did you go?” He rumbled softly. My chest tightened, and I couldn't breathe.

“Wha-”

“Why did you ru **n away?”** Each word sounded like an oncoming storm, his voice growing louder and louder by the second. I swallowed thickly.

“Dad I didn-”

“ **Don't you lie to me Johnny.** ” Dad shouted, spitting blood across the street. I felt my heart breaking.  

“D- Dad I didn't mean-” My voice caught but the look he gave me was enough.

 

“ **How did I end up with a son like you.”**  Dad spat blood to the ground before facing me again. I couldn't move- I couldn't breathe.

“ **You're nothing like me,”** Dad thundered, his breaths coming out heavily due to his stomach wound. “ **You never were,** **and you never will be.** ”

 

I could barely utter a noise before the fog swallowed him up and he disappeared completely. My heart shattered but I ran a step before my legs failed me and I fell onto my knees.

“ Dad!” I was for sure crying now. “ Please.” My knees were getting soaked by the rainwater and pool of blood left by my dad. My torso fell forward and soon enough I was on all fours, bawling my eyes out. I tightened my hands into fists. “ Don't go…I-”

 

I gasped awake as pool water was poured on my face. Flinging myself forward, I yelled, tripped over one of Eddie's game controllers, then found myself in a pile of a variety of snack foods. Blinded by the light of the sun, I squinted at the forms in front of me.

“Wha- what was that for?” I spluttered. Buster Moon shrugged before saying.

“We've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes.” Buster handed Eddie the empty water bucket. “With all your groaning you were doing, you'd think someone was killing you in your sleep.”

Eddie set the bucket on one of his messy shelves, items clattering to the floor as he shoved the bucket into place.

“Yeah Dude,” Eddie turned round and set his hooves to his hips. “ You sure sounded like you were having a hell of a nightmare.” He grabbed his chin quickly, as a sudden thought popped in his head. “ I remember one time I had a dream Nana was chasing me with a chainsaw,” Eddie shivered. “In her pajamas.” Buster pinched the bridge of his nose and I couldn't help but smile a little at Eddie's comment.

“Thank you, Eddie, for that wonderful image. But, I really think now is not the time to share all your Nana dreams.”

“They were _not_ dreams! They were _nightmares_! And I didn’t have another Nana dream, no need for the plural-”

“Anyway,” Buster had raised his voice and gave Eddie a pointed look. Eddie closed his mouth with a huff.  I stifled a small chuckle as Buster turned back to me. “ Johnny, correct me if I'm wrong, but in view of the circumstances, can I say it's safe to assume that the dream you just had was about your dad?” Eddie raised an eyebrow.

“Johnny has a dad? How come I've never heard of him?” Buster looked about ready to pounce on the sheep for his lack of reading the atmosphere abilities. I cleared my throat, my heartache on the topic creeped back into me as I was remembered the horrors of the night before.

“Yeah, I- um…” I shifted uncomfortably and brushed a couple of chips off my shoulder. “ I don't talk about him a whole lot.” Buster sat down, patting the seat next to him for Eddie to sit down, and nodded.

“Mhmm, Go on.” I swallowed thickly. My dad’s voice echoed through my head: _“Now Johnny.” Dad had stuck his finger out to make sure he had his elementary school sons full attention. “If anyone at school ever ask about me, or what I do and what not… Just call it ‘The family business,’ yeah? Do not_ _ever_ _tell anyone what I do because…_

I shook my head slightly. _No, I got to tell them about it or else I'll get no help… and I can't do this on my own._

“Well, my dad isn't really- you see…” _Oh my god this is harder to say then I thought,_ I grabbed at my hair in worry at a sudden thought: _What if Mr.Moon won't help me when he finds out what the family business really does. Oh no... what if he's horrified?! Everyone will know then too! They'll all be terrified of me! Oh no… I-_  I started breathing quickly and Buster saw a breakdown coming along as my pupils started fluctuating in size.

“Oh, boy- Johnny! Stay calm!” Buster jumped up and seized my shoulders. Eddie, like most people, had no idea what to do and stood frozen in the pool house.

“Mr. Moon, I brought those coffees you asked me to get a while-” Mrs. Crawly, the impeccable reptile she is, walked into the pool house with four coffees just as my eyes started watering when another panic attack hit me.

“Mrs. Crawly!” Buster sounded anxious. “Johnnys seems to be, uh, having a breakdown. Do you-” As soon as the the name ‘Johnny’ reached Mrs. Crawly’s ears, she had bolted as quick as she could over to me and practically shoved Buster out of the way when grasping the sides of my head. Immediately, I calmed down a little and the voices running through my head stilled for a second. _Oh, it's Mrs. Crawly…_

“Johnny.” Mrs. Crawly whimpered. “ You must calm down Johnny! Think of the music scales! Distract whatever's hurting you! Please Johnny.” Fat tears had welled into Mrs. Crawly’s eye and she struggled to keep them in check. I closed my eyes and thought of all the days I practiced the piano with Mrs. Crawly. I thought of how the scales, stressful at the time, helped me to calm down and just play my heart out. I thought of mom, and how she would just play her heart out. My breathing slowed and I clutched onto one of Mrs. Crawly's arm. I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and smiled at Mrs. Crawly.

“ I'm alright now,” I sat up a little. “ Thanks Mrs. Crawly.” Everyone in the room visibly relaxed. Buster let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you Mrs. Crawly.” Buster said. “ Now, Johnny, if you really can't or don't want to talk, I completely under-”

“No.” I looked at him determinedly. “ I need to get this out or I will never be able to save my dad.” I stood up and held their attention. “ I need your help!” I placed a hand on my chest at the beginning of my sentence, emphasizing my point. Buster nodded.

“ I can see rock bottom kid, just tell me what's going on and I'll help!”

“It's my dad!” I started.

“Right.” Buster agreed.

“ He's a known gang leader who broke out of jail and got kidnapped by another mob boss.” Buster nodded his head as if he knew this all along before starting and sputtered.

“Uh-hu- Wait- What!?” Eddies jaw dropped and Mrs. Crawly, who had hobbled back to the coffee, picked up the tray before dropping and spilling it everywhere over Johnny’s news.

“ Oh, but he broke out of jail to see me! I swear!” I added in a hopeful tone. Buster stared wide-eyed at the floor, mouth hung open, thinking deeply.

  
“ We’re gonna need a bit more help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Crawly is great. I watched Sing again the other day and I realized how much she supports Johnny from the get go. Literally after his finals performance Johnny looked over to Mrs. Crawly and she reminded him to bow. AHH SHE IS SO GREAT.
> 
> Besides that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was a little intense but hey- this is Johnny going to the underworld so this is only the BEGINNING.   
> *Crazy laughter in the distance*
> 
> :) :) :)   
> thanks for reading!  
> (will try to update as fast as I can but my winter break is ending and I'll probably be updating slower.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hah HAAAH thischapterwasabitchtowrite. 
> 
> Couple things to note, I didn't have a name for Johnny's Dad and I saw the name Oscar in another fic and I'm not gonna lie, I like the name for him so I decided to use it too. (Shoutout to devdev2017 and their work Home, it's great) :)  
> I also named Johnny's mom, you'll see her name too. 
> 
> (And if you CANNOT picture the room I'm describing in the first scene, I get you, heres the link(s) to my inspiration  
> http://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/,scalefit_970_noupscale/559fd4321b0000040727f8bc.jpeg
> 
> http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/DSC_5887__880.jpg
> 
> https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/03/2a/ac/032aac2e5a19bcbace8e7359f54be705.jpg
> 
> )

 

Big Daddy groaned as he slowly came to. His head ached and he could feel the stickiness of what he knew, based on past experience, was a nasty head wound. Oscar, his first name few people know him by, shivered as he felt the slow dribble of blood slide down the side of his head. Oscar blinked rapidly, trying to settle the pounding in his head, as he got a look of the room he was in. The only light provided was but a sliver of the night lights of the city thanks to the large curtained window off to Oscar’s right. The faded room was about as large as a typical school gym, but held the appearance of a battered ballroom. Worn, gilded engravings lined the walls and columns in each corner of the room.  A cobwebbed chandelier was the centerpiece of the room, it’s lights burnt out, never to shine again. The old wooden flooring and ceiling creaked and moaned at every gust of air. A piece of the, once ivory stone, ceiling broke off and crashed a foot from where Oscar sat. Oscar coughed at the cloud of dust he was forced to breath in, and it was then he noticed his inability to move his arms when he attempted to cover his mouth.  _ What the hell?  _ Glancing back, Oscar realized his wrists were cuffed together behind him and connected to a larger chain that expanded back into a tall red curtain. It was, also, then that Oscar realized he was kneeling on the center of a stage only about half a foot above the original dusty flooring.  _ The fuck?  _ Big Daddy twisted his hands in the shackles, only feeling the painful numbness of hands that have obviously been shackled way too tightly and way too long.  _ How did I-? When did I-?  _ Oscar hastily thought back to the last moments he could recall.  _ There was the police...I escaped to see Johnny. I was a block away from the theater when I paused to hide and catch my breath. Then everything’s black…  _ Oscar’s head wound throbbed in remembrance.  _ To be able to knock me out physically, in one blow too, whoever hit me wasn’t taking any chances and was ready.  _ A cold sense of alarm started to rise within Oscar.  _ Doesn’t matter who hit me at this point, I have to see Johnny.  _ Fixing himself into a better position, Oscar started to pull against the chain. Only after a minute of tugging, did Oscar start to feel the chain give a little. Oscar halted for a moment and panted heavily.  _ Shit, this thing is tough.  _ Repositioning himself again, Oscar took a deep breath and-

 

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, old friend.” A familiar deep voice sneered across the room as a heavy door creaked shut. Oscar stilled immediately and ever so slowly raised his head to face his captor sauntering towards him. 

 

Mazus Night. A white leopard. Burning yellow eyes. Same height as Oscar. Powerful arms and legs. Wearing an all black suit with a gold chain. A pompous madman. Leader of the mob group ‘The Night.’

Killer of Oscar’s wife.

 

A blood-boiling rage seemed to consume Oscar the instant he laid eyes on the arrogant carnivore. Oscar grit his teeth.

“You son of a bitch.” He spat. “What the  _ hell  _ do you want?” Night reached the edge of the stage tutting at the mountain gorilla’s tone. 

“Is that any way to speak to a friend you haven’t seen in…” Night paused, counting in his head. “Would you look at that, it’s been 14 years old chum. You feeling  _ old _ yet?” Oscar glared up at Night.

“What. Do.  _ You _ . Want.” Oscar repeated heatedly. Mazus laughed haughtily in his deep voice before saying.

“As impatient as always,” Mazus flicked Oscar’s nose, who in turned huffed angrily, then continued, “ So be it. I’ll just spoil the fun and tell you, I mean what good is a game if you don’t even know what’s-”

“Stop with the round’ about nonsense.” Oscar interrupted. “Just say-” 

 

“I want what’s left of Olivia.” Mazus leaned in so that his mouth was a hairsbreadth away from Oscar’s ear. “I want your son, Oscar.”

  
  


Oscar felt his body freeze, as Night leaned away, keeping his face as stoic as possible Oscar replied.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Olivia and I never had a son together.”  _ Lie.  _ Mazus burst out laughing at that remark. A manic sound just barely hanging on the edges of his laugh. Oscar tried twisting his hands free of the shackles again.

“You can’t lie to me,  _ friend _ .” Mazus grabbed Oscar by the neck and held him in the air,  a iron rage locked within his eyes. “A while into Olivia and your  _ relationship _ ,” He drawled the word as if he couldn't believe it. “you started doing less jobs for ‘The Night.’ For 6 of those years, I visited Olivia and whenever I came over she seemed out of breath. Like she was  _ hiding something _ .” Oscar let out a garbled noise as Mazus squeezed his neck tightly. “Of course, after  _ that _ night, I knew something was up. You left so suddenly, without a trace. Didn't want to be found that’s for sure, after all that  _ happened- _ ”

Oscar spat in Mazus’s eyes before gritting out,

“ _ Y-You  _ killed L-Liv.” He choked for a breath. “ _ N-not _ me.” Mazus threw down Oscar, and with his hands chained up he could do nothing but accept the fall. A crazy lisp had entered Mazus’s voice at this point, for Oscar had said the one thing that puts Mazus over the edge.

“ _ I loved Olivia! _ ” He kicked Oscar’s side and Big Daddy gasped as all his air left him for a minute. “ _ You  _ were the one that came between us,  _ I  _ had no choice.  _ How _ could she  _ not  _ be with me? She had obviously lost her mind, and I just  _ couldn’t  _ let her suffer.” Oscar hacked out a breath, laying face down into the old wood of the stage. During his rant, Mazus had walked to the small opening of light coming from the window. Gazing out morosely for a moment, before turning back to Oscar with a sad smile. “Even after all remnants of her were destroyed I couldn't move on, I missed her voice, her laughter, her eyes. Day after day, year after year, city after city. I thought to myself, ‘there must be some reason I can’t move on…’” His grin grew bigger. “But then it  _ happened! _ ” Oscar narrowed his eyes as Mazus reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper.  Big Daddy let out a small gasp at the paper. 

It was an ad for Moon Theater’s singing competition and pasted in one of the corners was Johnny’s smiling face.

“Marvelous isn't it? One of my members found it posted on a local announcement board.” Mazus flipped the paper back around and gazed at the ad longingly. “He has Olivia’s eyes… how beautiful.” He murmured more to himself than to Oscar but the mountain gorilla still heard it and flung himself, as much as the chain would allow, toward Mazus. He huffed in pure fury.

“ _ Don't you dare touch my son. _ ” He renewed his earlier effort and pulled against the chain with all his weight, feeling it slowly giving way. Mazus tucked the sheet back in his coat pocket and frowned at the angry gorilla.

“ You see, old friend, I knew you'd get like this so that's why I had you chained up to the anchors of this building. Which is why you should heed my advice I said earlier.” Oscar tugged even harder against the chain. “You do realize the second you break that chain this whole building will come crashing down. Burying both of us in it.” Oscar grunted before replying determinedly, locking eyes with his once good friend.

“Better to bury the two of us than to have you ever touch my son.” Mazus chortled, a smug smirk fastened on his face. 

“Who said it was only the two of us?” Big daddy froze instantly, glaring up at the carnivore.

“What?” Mazus’s smug look increased tenfold, he leaned down until he was eye to eye with Oscar.

“What if I told you there were hundreds of people in floors below us?” Oscar hesitated.

“You're bluffing.”

“And if I'm not you will have murdered hundreds of innocent lives.” 

“I'd do it for Johnny.” Oscar countered defensively.

“He wouldn't forgive you.” 

 

Oscar’s heart stung at that, and he started to feel the full weight of his helplessness of the situation.  _ Fuck I… I can't do anything.  _ Mazus leaned back up, pulling back his sleeve to take a look at his watch. “Well, I would love to stay, old friend. But,” He started sauntering back to the front door, his tail sweeping the floor in long swoops. “ I have a business to run.” Oscar felt exposed, as all he could do as the biggest threat to his son was beginning his attack on his son, was sit and glare at the man. Mazus opened the creaky door, and looked over his shoulder at Oscar. “Toodles!” And with a smile, the door shut with a resounding thud that echoed within the broken room. Mazus’s grin grew larger as an ear-splitting roar erupted from behind him.

———————————————————————————————————-----------------------------------------------

“Buster, listen to me. I know I sound repetitive at this point but you  _ REALLY  _ can't be doing this.” Eddie pleaded. The two of them were alone outside Eddie’s pool house; Eddie sitting with his feet in the pool, Buster pacing back and forth in thought, and Johnny gone to check his house for clues of ‘The Night.’ Buster remained silent and Eddie groaned to the sky. Pulling at his face, Eddie stood up and grabbed the koala’s shoulders staring him down. “Look,” He said matter of factly and Buster raised his head to look into his friend’s eyes. “ I love the kid too, but once we start this, there’s no going back. We-” Buster shook Eddie off.

“But, Eddie. Don’t- agh- I know he’s,” Buster went to the edge of the pool and stared into the pool. “I know Johnny’s father is a criminal, I know his dad has associated with some of the worst people in the world and that if we help him then  _ we _ would probably end up in body bags the next day but,” Buster turned back to Eddie. His eye’s were full of so many conflicted emotions that Eddie unconsciously furrowed his brow a little. “It’s his  _ dad _ Ed. I know better than anyone how much my dad meant to me, and if my dad was kidnapped by the mob, you and I both know I wouldn’t be sitting here wondering whether or not to help him.” Eddie hesitated, before nodding knowingly.

“Yeah, I know you would. But,” He looked down and rubbed the back of his head worriedly. “I just can’t help feeling that once we start this, we all won’t make it back. ” Buster gave Eddie a sad smile.

“If you think about it, that’s probably why it was so hard for Johnny to ask us for help.” The Koala looked back at the pool. The water looked like a mirror by how still it was. The thought of, ‘the calm before the storm,’ blew through Buster’s mind. “He’s been dealing with the dark side, the underworld, his whole life.  He must of struggled making connections growing up because he was afraid what would happen to them if they got too close. It’s kinda amazing to think about, he could’ve ended up so differently...his Dad must have raised him well.” Eddie didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so he cleared his throat and said.

“Well,” Eddie crossed his arms. “ if the mob that took Johnny's dad is worse than the one Mike brought....” Eddie let out a big breath. “Man, I don’t know.” Buster froze. He whipped back towards Eddie, eyes wide.

“What did you just say?” Buster questioned. Eddie startled at Buster’s intensity.

“I said, ‘Man, I don’t kno-’”

“No no no,” Buster waved his hands in front of him quickly. “Before that.” Eddie grabbed his chin and raised an eyebrow.

“I said…” He pronounced slowly. “Oh! I said if the mob that has Johnny’s dad is worse than the one’s Mike mess-”

“That’s it!!” Buster leapt up in joy. “Mike!” Eddie frowned in confusion.

“I thought you hated that mouse?” Buster shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t hate him, he just made some bad choices and isn’t the nicest- But, anyway, that’s not my point.” Buster rambled. “We need to find Johnny’s dad, and Johnny said he had no idea where to even start. What about our gambling, club going, rodent friend?” Eddie slowly nodding as the pieces fell together in his head. 

“ Yeah, I see what you mean. Since Mike usually is out with the more rougher crowd, he must have heard something about ‘The Night.’” Eddie had a sudden revelation. “There's one problem with your plan though Buster.” Buster raised an eyebrow.

“Ah? What would that be?”

“Mike disappeared! We don't know where he is.” Buster's mouth fell open with a retort handy, but no words came out.

“... that… is a problem.”

 

———————————————————————————————————-------------------------------------

Johnny POV

 

I threw open the door of the garage, where others might have struggled with a task, I could do so easily with just one arm. It helped that I had so much adrenaline pumping through me, the panic to find clues about my dad turned into a rush of energy, fueling me to keep going. Shutting the door back behind me, I quickly looked around the garage and set my keys on the bench by the door, not even knowing where to start.  _ Where do I even begin? Ah, man…  _ I stood in the doorway uncomfortably. The garage lights were all out, leaving the room only mildly bright, thanks to the midmorning sun. There was no noise, no radio music playing, none of the grunts or clangs when Dad and the gang actually  _ did  _ work on cars, none of the roar of laughter that usually boomed from Dad when one of his friends made a joke, no “Hey, Johnny, where’ve you been?” when I had slammed the garage shut. It was silent except for the faint sound of every other car from the street beyond the garage. The silence left me feeling even more emotional and raw, the garage a constant reminder of Dad not being home because of my  _ mistake. No,  _ I shook my head,  _ that wasn’t your fault.  _ Fighting back the sting of tears, I jogged through the room and around the corner to the table where Dad and the gang would hold meetings. A pile of papers, along with the map of the last heist, lay scattered across the table. Ignoring the map, I rustled through the papers looking for any sign of ‘The Night.’ I was half- way through them, with no luck, when I heard a window crash back near the front of the garage. I frowned, and stuffed the leftover papers in my pocket, my whole body alert. Sidling myself against the wall, I peeked my head around the corner and gasped. A buff-looking crocodile was standing among the shattered glass of the broken window, he wore dark shades and a black tuxedo. Glancing behind him, the Croc motioned with his hand and another crocodile shimmied itself through the window. The only difference between the two crocodiles was the fact that the 2nd one was holding something in his hand. I whipped my head back around the corner, my breaths coming out silently but unsteadily.  _ Who are they?! Oh, shit, this can’t be good. They must be from another mob. What do they want? How did they find this place? Did they hear about the heist Dad was doing? But they should know it didn’t work, Dad’s face was all over the paper!   _ I heard one of the crocs kick something. “How do we know he’s even here, Cray? What if the mouse is lying?” I stilled immediately.  _ Mouse? _ I slowly peeped around the edge again. The croc that had talked was speaking to the one holding something, who I assumed was Cray.  Cray smirked. 

“Now, why would he do that? Our friend knows that if he’s a fraud we have no problem in killing him.” Cray raised the hand which was holding something and sneered at it. “Ain’t that right Mr. Mike?” It was then that I could finally see the squirming figure of Mike, sweating and probably having a hard time breathing, squeezed inside Cray’s fist. 

“Ugh- Heh, Y-yeah buddy!” Mike smiled nervously. “I heard the k-kid lives in a garage. In d-downtown and h-here we are!” Mike looked sheepish all of sudden. “ Um, y- you’re not gonna hurt h-him or anything are you?” The not Cray croc snorted and started checking out the room.

“That’s for us to decide and for you to stop prying your nose into shit.” I whirled back around as the croc started walking my way. My head spun.  _ What’s Mike doing here? And helping them? Well, he is a little guy I bet it’s hard to stand up to mobsters… Still, they must be looking for me. What for? I don’t have anything.  _ I heard the croc stepping closer, my heart started pounding.  _ Shit, gotta hide!  _ I glanced up in the rafters which were full of interlocking pipes and ventilation shafts before swinging up there and pressing myself up against the wall and behind a pipe. It wasn’t the best hiding spot but, I was betting most people don’t look up. The crocodile had reached Dad’s meeting table, he was barely 7 feet away from me. I held my breath and sat as still as I could. My heart felt like it would bounce out of my chest. The crocodile bended over to look at the papers scattered on the table. I saw a gun hidden in his back pocket and I clapped a hand to my mouth to stop myself from gasping. _ Oh my god they’re gonna kill me. He’s gonna- Johnny, no. Calm down, think… Just, if you can get to the back door you can book it out of here. Besides, you parked the car at the gas station cross’ the street, they don’t know if you’re here. They could start leaving any- _

 

“Hey, Al I found a pair of keys!” Cray yelled back in the other room. I felt myself grow cold. “He must be here hidin’ somewhere!” My body started to tremble slightly and I began panicking. Al, the croc standing directly below me shushed the other reptile.

“With all your yelling he must have ran off at this point.” He moved from the table and starting knocking things out of place. “Oh, Johnny boy Johnny! Come out, come out wherever you are.” He sung while pulling out his gun. I took an unsteady breath before I felt my stomach steel itself at the sight of the weapon, my experience in the criminal world kicking in. _ Come on, you’re fine. Most people take a second or two to fire, remember? That’s what Dad always says. “Kick them down or run outta’ the line of fire, it takes about everyone a second or two to shoot.”  _  I looked back at the ceiling and about punched myself with my stupidity. Across from where I was hiding was a small ceiling window. _ I probably would just barely squeeze through but, I still need to distract the guy before- _

 

“Ohhh, there you are Johnny!” sneered a voice below me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wanted to eat my soul so I struggled to get it finished quickly. That being said, I hope you liked it!! I probably won't have another chapter out soon, but GOD I LOVE ALL THE SING CHARACTERS SO MUCH.
> 
> Oh, Mazus Night. Yup. If you're wondering why a leopard( and crocodile for the other goons) it's because I looked up what animal usually attacks mountain gorillas and that's what I got.
> 
> Mazus... he's supposed to be a more laid back but crazy kind of villain. Kind of like the Joker but , c'mon what villain can beat the Joker?
> 
> Lastly if you got my pun up in the notes in the beginning I FRICKING LOVE YOU. ;)


	5. Out with a Bang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SH*T JoHNYY, YOU GOOD?

My eyes widened as the barrel of the gun faced me.  _ How did he?  _ I glanced down and saw the papers I had crumpled into my pocket lying maliciously on the floor.  _ Shit, I didn’t even notice it fall. _ Al cocked his gun before motioning to the floor.

“Get down here, ya fat ape,” The crocodile mobster sneered at me the way a wolf smiles at a rabbit before it eats it. “ before I make you.” Hoping my face looked calmer than it really was, I shakily pulled myself down to the floor. The second my feet touched the floor I heard a strangled yell from Cray followed by a string of curses. Al kept his gun and eyes locked on me as he called out: “Oi, Cray, what's going on?” A moment later, Cray was swaying around the corner with a soundless snarl on his face. He was holding his hand which was dripping blood. 

“Mother fucking mouse bit me!” Cray hissed. “Ran out fore’ I could shoot his tail off.” Al shrugged still keeping his eyes locked on me in case I did anything funny. Which was a good idea because the second he would have looked away, I'd be kicking his gun out of his hands and making a break for a window. 

“Doesn't matter anymore,” Al smirked at me. “We got what we need.” 

 

Cray took a step toward me and in the next instant a sharp pain hit the back of my head followed by a pitch black darkness.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mike had  _ had  _ it.

 

First it was the Russian bear gang and now people from ‘The Night’ were seeking him out too? Hell no, enough is enough. As soon as Mike was able to dig his teeth into that slimy crocodile’s hand, he sprinted as fast as he could to a wall and slipped between and out through a crack. It was nice to be small sometimes,  _ but being small got me stuck in that situation in the first place.  _ Mike was a block away from Johnny's garage now, catching his breath as he wondered what to do.

_It doesn't matter anymore. You got out, now you leave and move on._ Mike nodded to himself and straightened the collar of his purple suit. _That's right,_ Mike thought, _no need to get involved with something that could get you killed. Not that those crocodiles would be killing the kid, no, I mean- he's just a teenager._ A picture of the crocodiles gun flashed through Mike’s head and he grimaced. _He'll be fine...probably just took a bit of money from the wrong people...He will just get roughed up a bit and, hey, will probably gain some experience from it too._ Mike smiled to himself, proud of how well he thought of a solution. _Just walk away and forget this ever happened._ Smiling to himself, Mike took a step and--

 

He couldn't move. Actually Mike could move just fine but with each step he took, he felt a weight push more and more on his chest making him feel worse and worse.  _ God, is this a conscience?  _ Smacking a hand to his face and groaning loudly, Mike shuffled in his pockets and pulled out his phone. 

 

“Hey, Buster? Yeah, uh, listen you need to get down here. Hm? It's Johnny he's in trouble. Some gang- Hey hey, what? Stall them? How?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My head throbbed as I came to. I opened my eyes surprisingly when I realized I was still in the garage. Still in the garage tied to a chair. Tied to a chair with a gun pointed at my chest. Alarm bells raced through my head while I struggled to backtrack what had happened prior to my ‘nap.’ The croc keeping the gun pointed at me ( who I couldn't really tell if it was Al or Cray because of how similarly they looked), looked severely annoyed, and was staring at his partner who was off to the side pacing while talking on his phone. The croc who had the gun hadn't noticed me wake up. Trying to maintain my breathing, I acted as unconsciously as I could while I strained to think of an escape.  _ The chair I'm tied to is just one of the regular ones from the shop, so I could easily run with it tied to me. It’d be a little awkward running in though _ . I slowly tugged at the wires and chain they had tied me with, testing its tightness.  _ Ouch, yeah, they definitely don't want me to go anywhere. If only they had tied me with rope, I could have probably broken out.  _ I stared down the gun pointed at me.  _ Right, so- _

The crocodile on the phone kicked the wall suddenly and it took all my might to not flinch. 

“I'm  _ telling _ you,” Said Al, which I was finally able to discern when the one keeping his gun pointed at me dripped blood from his hand onto my thigh, “we need someone to come down and pick us up so we can deliver the  _ package _ Mr. Night had requested. No, we don't have a car, someone  _ fucking stole it! _ ” 

I couldn't help letting a small gasp slip between my lips. Cray didn't acknowledge that he heard anything. My head pounded.  _ He said ‘Mr. Night’... He couldn't mean ‘The Night’? But if that's true, why would he want me if he already has my dad?  _ I glanced between the two mobsters, my curiosity growing.  _ Either way, it sounds like they need me alive…  _ I  licked my lips nervously and glanced behind Cray, where, around the corner and 30 ft away, was the back door. I narrowed my eyes in determination and stared down the gun in front of me.  _ I just need to knock the gun away, kick the mobster down and- _

My ears twitched as police sirens started to fade into earshot. 

 

Elation and dread rushed through me.  _ Thank god for the police but if they catch me, they’ll never let me run around freely if they know the mob is after me!  _ Al and Cray noticed the noise a second later. Al cursed and shoved his phone in his pocket while grabbing his gun. “ Shit, the mouse must’ve snitched. Cray, grab the kid and we’ll go out the back door.” Cray nodded and turned to me. Noticing my change in consciousness, Cray pursed his lips in thought. 

“Ey’ Al, the kid woke up.” Al raised an eyebrow and I looked between the two nervously. I instinctively shrunk back into my chair. The sound of the sirens growing louder and louder, but not quite fast enough.“Should I knock him out again or?” Al, sensing my fear, sneered down at me. 

“Nah, we’ll just drag him out through the door. He’d run off if we untied him too, but… ah-hah!” Al grabbed a nearby greased stained rag, cupped my face and shoved the crusty cloth into my throat. I gagged at the horrendous taste that entered my mouth, and my eyes watered at the unwelcome stench that wafted into my nose. Al grinned, “Now he can’t call for help if the cops get too close.” The sirens grew louder, the cops had to be a couple blocks away. The crocs grabbed the back of the chair and started to drag me behind them, heading to the door. Helplessness flooded my senses and panic was the ark of my storm.  _ No, wait! Shit, shit, shit!!  _ I squirmed ferociously; my feet skidded on the floor uselessly as I tried to slow down the mobsters hustle to the door. Through the window I could start to see blue and red flashing lights.  _ They’re almost here, they just don’t- Agh, help! Over here! Please! I’m over here!  _ I tried to yell, to scream, but it only came out as a muffled cry. We reached the door and I powerlessly shut my eyes.  _ Please…   _ The two crocodiles popped the door open and-

 

“ _ NOW!”  _

 

A crushing noise of skillet meeting skull reverberated in the alley behind the garage. Al and Cray fell to the ground with a dull thud. I slowly opened my eyes and nearly cried at the sight before me. Meena, Rosita, and Ash stood on both sides of the door. Meena was on the left, and Ash was sitting on Rosita’s shoulders on the right. Meena and Ash were holding iron pots and pans; the second Al and Cray had stepped through the door, the two of them had wasted no time in hitting the mobsters with all they had on the head. Judging by the mobsters motionlessness, I guessed they did a pretty good job. I tried to smile, but failed with the rag in my mouth. 

“Ghhhgzzzz!” I attempted. The three dropped their pans of destruction instantly and rushed to me. Rosita eyebrows were knit with worry as she pulled out the rag.

“Johnny! Oh, I can’t believe this, are you okay? They didn’t hurt you did they?” Ash glared at crocs, and started to push her sleeves up threateningly.

“If they did, I  _ swear to  _ **_god-”_ ** Meena hastily undid the wires and chain they had tied me with and I sat up and started to massage my arms. 

“No, they just hit me hard in the head is all,” I looked between the three of them in awe and relief. “ How did you guys find me? And so quickly too.” Meena shuffled sheepishly.

“Ash and I were actually at Rosita’s when Buster called us.” Ash crossed her arms and nodded.

“Yeah, we were hanging together because we knew Rosita could use a bit of help around the house and,” Ash punched me in the arm and I yelped in pain. “ we were  _ wondering _ what happened to  _ you  _ when  _ you  _ were taken to the police  _ yesterday _ . And all this stuff with  _ the mob _ ! Johnny what  _ exactly _ is going on?!” Meena hid behind her ears as she chipped in.

“I was wondering that too, I thought only Mike would be… involved… with gangs.” Rosita remained quiet, looking like she didn’t quite know what to say but searching me for an answer as well. I rubbed my arm as I looked reproachfully between them, my elated feeling fading away.  _ Ah… Buster probably didn’t… then again, Buster probably expected me to tell them.  _ Still rubbing my arm, I couldn’t meet any of their eyes.

“Buster didn’t explain at all, huh? Um, well-” And wouldn’t you know it, that grey vertebrate comes running around the corner dressed in a police uniform, holding a plastic black baton, and looking out of breath.

“Johnny!” Buster raced to the group of them. “I’m so glad- OH!” Buster nearly stepped on Al. “Well I see  _ that  _ went well.” He looked so pleased with himself. “Looks like my plan succeeded perfectly!” Thankful for the subject change, I looked at Buster strangely. 

“Mr. Moon, you planned this? And if you don't mind me asking, why are you in a police uniform?” Buster snapped his fingers.

“I am so glad you asked Johnny!” He put his hands together. “You see, my plan was to make the crocodiles, who were holding you hostage, hear the sirens and see me and the lights, and panic. This, then, would lead them outside through the only other exit.” He gestured grandly at the door. “The backdoor! And here I had Rosita, Meena, and Ash waiting patiently for the assailants to arrive and WHAM-O!” I furrowed my brow, confused.

“But where did you get the sirens and lights…?” Buster beamed.

“Old props from my old play,  _ The Silence of the Hams. _ ” Buster sighed nostalgically. “It was a great show but apparently there was a movie adaptation created that was ‘better’ than my original performance.” A deep voice cut into the conversation.

“Wow, what a great plan Moon.” Mike strolled up to the others, his words dripping with sarcasm. “And wouldn’t it be great to just sit here and talk about how much we all love each other, and need each other and blah _blah_ **_blah_**.” Mike crossed his arms and a semi-panicked look overcame his features. “You guys do realize you have two knocked out criminals beneath your feet? We don’t have _TIME_ sit here and talk about our feelings.” Rosita and Ash looked about to argue back when I nodded. 

“Mike’s right, besides one of them was calling for others to come pick him up.” Mike blanched.

“There’s  _ more  _ coming?” Ignoring Mike’s comment, I turned to Buster and the rest of the crew.

“We need to get out of here quick, how’d you guys get here? Are you able to drive away?” Buster let out a small ‘eh-heh’ and muttered.

“I rode a wagon here with my equipment.” Ash put her hand on her hip and answered as well:

“Rosita, Meena and I took the bus.” I bit my lip and peeped down at Mike who looked back at me like I was crazy.

“Kid, I was kidnapped and brought here. Do you  _ think _ I have my car with me?” I pulled my hand through my hair thinking hurriedly.  _ Think think… how do we get out of here, without walking of course.  _ An image of my truck flashed through my head and I smacked my face.  _ Duh.  _

“Okay, I have my truck sitting across the street at the gas station. It’s not the biggest so some of you guys will have to sit in the trunk.” Coming to a silent agreement, everyone raced across the street while I ran inside and grabbed my keys. Joining the others, I ripped the driver's door open and jumped inside. Ash, Rosita, and Mike were sitting up front while Buster and Meena huddled on the back of the truck. As soon as the engine ignited the car roared to life; Ash rolled down the window and Meena’s voice echoed from the back in a frightened tone.

“Uh, guys? There’s a car with tinted windows coming our way… really fast.” I adjusted the rearview mirror and cursed. Sure enough, a black sedan was making its way toward us without heed to much of the traffic laws. Switching gears, I reversed the car and sped out and onto the street. As soon as we hit the road, the sedan started gunning towards us. A gunshot rang in the air and everyone screamed.  _ Look’s like the reinforcements have arrived.  _ I nailed the accelerator and yelled:

“ _ Hold on!”  _ And I wrenched the steering wheel to the side, turning the car sharply around the corner. The black sedan kept up, following close behind a couple moments later. Mike, who had fallen down during the turn, was holding his chest like he was having a heart attack.

“Kid, I swear, if those mob’s don’t kill me first, your driving will.” Another gunshot sounded. Ash shook her head in frustration.

“ _ JOHNNY. Why  _ is the mob after you?  _ What  _ did you do?!?” I lurched past a car, and got an outraged honk from said car’s driver. I turned my head towards Ash before zipping it back to the traffic.

“Ash do we-” I swung around another corner, the sound of traffic, Meena’s fearful screaming, and gunshots flooding my ears. “Do we have to talk about this  _ now? _ ” Ash stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Her eyes filled with an angry hurt I thought she only showed when facing Lance. 

“ _ Yes _ , we  _ have  _ to talk about this now, considering how half of us in this car don't even know how you got in this mess and are subject to whatever comes after, if  _ those guys _ ,” Ash pointed behind the car. “Catch us!” We raced through a stoplight, and I swung the car back and forth as I avoided hitting any cars. Mike looked about to be sick and Rosita was holding onto the seat liked her life depended on it while Ash remained unfazed. Instead of the guilt that should've came forward at Ash’s words, an annoyed anger and frustration started to bubble within me. 

“Ash, they  _ won't  _ catch us. That much I can promise you, now  _ please _ -” More gunfire sounded in the air and I could see Meena and Buster laying as low in the trunk as they could from the rear view mirror.

“That's not good enough Johnny! We deserve to know-” The sound of car horns began to amplify and I felt my ears being overwhelmed. I gritted my teeth as I twisted around a roundabout.

“Now is  _ really _ not a good time Ash-” My frustration was growing as fast as hers.

“Johnny  _ now  _ is the  _ perfect-”  _ Rosita started glancing nervously between the two teens.

“ It's not something I can say easily when I'm driving  _ and  _ avoiding the mob-” Buster rapped on the window dividing the front and the back and I barely heard him when he said:

“Johnny, you're losing them! Keep it up.”

“Johnny, I am _oh_ _so sorry_ but-” Ash began.

“Would you kiddies  _ stop yelling _ -” Mike piped in.

“-deserve to know why you're involved-”Ash continued.

“Hey Johnny, I think we’re in the clear”

“All you teens just fight and argue and oh! hormones!”

“Now, Mike, stop that you're not helping!” Rosita pitched in.

“-just find somewhere to hide-”

“-we care about you and it-”

“Johnny!”

“Johnny.”

“Kid!”

The voices blurred together and all my stress and emotions over the past 24 hours bubbled up and exploded as I yelled.

“ _ It's my dad, okay!”  _

A sudden silence overcame everything and I realized I had begun driving in an abandoned area downtown. Looking in the rear view mirror I saw the sedan was gone and I finally processed Buster’s words from before. Everyone was giving me wide-eyed looks and I silently pulled into a desolate parking ramp. My hands had tightened on the steering wheel during the chase and as I parked my hands felt tight and raw. I sighed and rubbed my face. Everyone looked at me expectantly, except Buster, who was looking for signs of me falling into another anxiety attack. Staring straight ahead, I continued softly in weary voice.

“I'm not as nice as you guys think me to be. Me and my dad… we have a family business, right? It's- basically-” I sighed again.“ My dad is the leader of the bunny mask gang, or was... he got caught in our last heist when I was at rehearsal instead of being there with the escape car and  _ being _ his son.” There was no reply and I took that as a sign to keep going. I licked my lips. “Anyways, he's been in jail for the past week or so until last night when the police arrived and told me he had broken out. And now-” My voice cracked and I paused a moment before continuing. “ he's been taken by a mob group, ‘The Night,’ and now, apparently, they’re after me and I still have  _ no idea where to find my dad! _ ” 

The burn of upcoming tears started to materialize and I felt myself choking on the tense silence that followed my confession.  _ God, they probably hate me. I did drag them into this mess- shit this is why- _

I stiffened as a hand gently touched my shoulder. Slowly looking over, I saw Ash giving me a sad look. Ash glanced down guiltily. 

“Johnny I…” She retracted her arm and shuffled nervously. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have forced that out of you. I was just, scared.” That didn’t make me feel any better, and I felt my face blanch slightly. 

“Scared? Of… Of me?” I stuttered. Rosita saw my fear and grabbed my hands in a motherly way. 

“No Johnny! Don’t you ever think that we’d be scared of you!” Rosita smiled sadly. “We were scared  _ for  _ you.”  _ Oh.  _ That made me feel better. Ash smiled at that and continued.

“Yeah, besides,” she punched my shoulder, playfully this time. “I don’t think you have a mean bone in your body. Even if you were in a gang.” I smiled.

“Thanks Ash.” Rosita grabbed hold of Ash and me, and we all had a big group hug.

“Oh my god, I think I’m going to be sick.” Mike groaned from on top of the dash. Rosita pulled away and rolled her eyes at the ruined moment. 

“Mike, are you kidding me? We were all having an important discussion and you say-”

“Can it Porky.” Mike adjusted his suit. “I’m  _ actually _ going to puke thanks to Johnny’s  _ stellar _ driving.” Rosita looked ready to blow.

“Mike, if it wasn’t for Johnny’s ‘stellar’ driving, we would be-” Mike waved her off.

“Ah, shush will ya? I’m not going to argue, just let me help Johnny here for a minute without you yapping your lips off.” Everyone frowned. Mike? Help someone? Mike scowled. “C’mon, stop it with the wide-eyed looks, I can be nice sometimes too.” At this point Meena and Buster had opened up the dividing window and had been listening quietly to the conversation. Mike turned to me, his expression bored.

“Look kid, I know you really want to find your dad, but when I tell you my info you can’t go around saying I’m the one who told you, got it? I don’t wanna be involved.” Ash gave Mike a stern look.

“Says the one who brought a bear gang to the theater.” Mike ignored her.

“Is that a deal kid?” I nodded.

“Sure, as long as it gets me to my dad.” The small mouse straightened his tie.

“Okay kid, here’s the deal. Not too long ago I was given a job at a new club. Classy place, it had a whole Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald feel to it. Anyways, I didn’t take the job when I learned the owner of the club. Mazus Night.” I stiffened at the last name.

“Is he-?”

“The leader of ‘The Night.’ Now, I don’t think your dad is there but, you might be able to find some clues as to where Mr. Night is keeping him.” I bit my lip and nodded.  _ Mazus Night… what does he have to do with my dad, why did he kidnap him? This can’t just be about a heist…  _ A sudden thought popped up in my head.

“Mike, do you know anything about Mazus?” Mike shrugged.

“Not a whole lot… he’s a white leopard, violent, and cruel,” Mike twisted a finger by the side of his head at his next words. “Also, heard he’s a bit crazy.” I gulped at that and rubbed the steering wheel nervously.

“What’s the name of the place again?” I asked.

“Club Night. He’s a real subtle guy.” Mike responded. I felt my determination rising.

“I’m going there, tonight.” Buster finally chipped in.

“No, Johnny,  _ you’re not. _ ” I whipped back to face Buster.

“Why not!” I retorted and got a ‘you’re being rash’ look back.

“Because,” Buster started. “In case you’ve forgotten. This Mazus guy is  _ looking  _ for you! They know what you look like! You can’t just waltz in there with no plan!” I was beginning to splutter a response when Ash interrupted.

“Don’t worry,” Ash had a sly look on her face. “I’ve got an idea.” Mike snorted.

“Well  _ this _ will be good.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day: Evening

 

Mazus Night had all the curtains in his office closed. Lounging in his large cushioned chair, Mazus held a cigar in one hand, and smoked on the leaves contentedly. In his other hand, Mazus held a small photograph that was burned slightly on the edges. He stared at the picture emptily as the silence of the room was broken by a creak of the door. Opening the top left drawer of his desk, Mazus gently set the photograph down before closing it back up and glaring blankly at his two underlings that had entered. His minions, crocodiles, shuffled uneasily into the room. Mazus could practically smell their  _ failure  _ of the  _ simple  _ assignment he had given them. One of them, _ Al I think his name is, _ walked up to his desk. Al had taken his sunglasses off, holding his hands crossed in front of him, and making direct eye contact with the floor. He coughed and his voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

“H-hey Boss, we uh… well you see… about the kid-” Al choked on his own voice and coughed a second time while I raised an eyebrow. 

“What about him?” I spoke each word slowly and sinisterly. My eyes locked with the reptiles shaking form. As always, I was the predator and the weak crocodile before had become my prey. I could almost feel myself circling him, like the hunts of old, with my words. The underling gulped.

“He, uh,” He cleared his throat. “He got away.” A tense silence filled the room. My eyes remained locked on Al’s form as I gradually rose from my chair and began to stalk towards him.

“How is it,” Mazus kept his voice soft. “That a teenage boy,” Mazus drew ever closer and out of the corner of his eye he saw Al’s partner quiver in fear. “Was able to overpower  _ two armed mobsters _ ,” Mazus’s voice grew louder as his tongue laced itself with satire. “ _ Steal…  _ said mobsters car,” Mere centimeters away, Mazus looked down at _ this sad excuse of a mobster _ and grabbed Al by the collar of his shirt. Leaning down so Mazus was eye to eye to his underling, Mazus snarled: “And  _ let one mere child _ escape in his  _ own  _ car.” Al whimpered quietly and started to sweat profusely. 

“B-but Boss,” Al struggled to keep his voice from shaking as he shrugged in the Leopard’s grip. “John- The kid… he had help! It's not-” Al cleared his throat. “It's not our fault!” 

 

A tense silence clouded the room.

 

Al, still sweating out all the water in his system, was about to apologize for his remark when the most horrifying thing happened.

 

Mazus smiled. Not a nice smile and not a evil smile; a smile a carnivore would hold after sharing a joke with its meal. Releasing his hold on Al’s collar, Mazus brushed the wrinkles out of the reptiles tux. 

“ You're right. How can it be  _ your  _ fault, when in actuality… you did nothing wrong.” Mazus nodded thoughtfully and he gave Al a sympathetic smile.  “ _ You _ are the real victim here.” Al froze for a moment before nodding, his stiff form finally relaxing.

“Yeah, it's not-”

 

**_BANG_ **

 

Al felt the blood drain from his face as he heard Cray scream in agony and fall to the floor behind him. Al watched as Mazus blew at the steam pouring from his pistol, his heart rate quickened and all Al could hear was the pounding of his own heart beat. Mazus looked down at Al, he smiled once more.

  
  
“However, it  _ will  _ be your fault the next time this happens.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot ANother Chapter. Good job me.  
> First off, apologies for not updating sooner.  
> Secondly, WRITING IS HARD.  
> Some nights words just come pouring out of me. Other nights I can barely think to type "the"
> 
> All complaints aside, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)) I have some GREAT ideas for the next one!  
> "What kind of plan does Ash have?" "Why is Mazus such an ass?" "I LIKED CRAY GODAMNIT"
> 
>  
> 
> Rest in peace Cray. You were kinda cool... except you did threaten my child with a gun so maybe not so cool.  
> I tried real hard to incorporate all the characters in this chap, I know Meena didn't say as much IM SORRY. 
> 
> Some final tidbits-- My schedule as of late has been getting me even more busy so I will probably update even SLOWER than usual.  
> BUT DO NOT WORRY, I AM DETERMINED TO CONTINUE THIS.  
> Thanks again and have a wonderful day!!! :) :D
> 
>  
> 
> (ALSO MANY THANKS FOR ALL THE RECENT COMMENTS I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM <3 THEY MAKE MY DAY!!)


	6. Club Night

Between sitting up at the bar of Club Night, the dim lights sluggishly fading between hues of reds, and live swing music floating throughout the entire building, I felt there could’ve been a worst place to get lost dressed as a woman.  _ Like an alley… or that one street in downtown.  _ Fiddling with the drink before me, a martini since I didn’t know any other fancy drink one would get at a nightclub, I blew my wigs curly locks out of my face and wondered where the others had slipped off to. Searching around the copious amount of club patrons, I failed to find signs of any of them. I sighed.  _ Where did the plan go wrong? _

 

The plan, or Ash’s  _ great _ idea, being ‘infiltrating’ Club Night disguised as club goers--me disguised as a woman since Mazus was looking for a teenage male gorilla-- and then looking for anything that could tell me where my dad was.

 

The only problem was the second Mr. Moon, Rosita, Ash, and I stepped through the doors of the classy club, swarms of clubbers swept past the door pulling us all in different directions. Finally escaping the drunken animals, I found myself alone, standing at the bar, dressed in a sparkling red dress, heels, eight pounds of makeup, silicone lumps sticking to my chest, and a corset that made my lungs cry. Not knowing what else to do, I decided to wait it out and have a drink. I could barely breath anyways, so I deserved the drink. Back to the present, I drew in as deep of a breath as I could and blinked rapidly as my vision faded softly.  _ Damn, Ash  _ _ definitely  _ _ tied the corset too tight… Oh my god how do girls wear these?  _

I took a tiny sip of my drink and struggled not to cringe as I got the vile liquid down. _ Ugh, nasty stuff.  _

As I gagged through my martini, I felt a paw tap me on the shoulder. I turned around quickly hoping to see the faces of my friends and just as quickly having that hope crushed before me. A burly brown bear dressed in a fancy tuxedo and holding a glass of beer smiled down at me. I shifted uneasily due to the strange look in his eye. Shaping my voice to sound a bit higher than usual, I followed Ash’s guidelines she had given to me earlier and flipped my curly wig hair back before asking:

“Can I help you?” I hid my rapid- firing nerves under my makeup mask of a face. The bear grinned even wider, making himself appear even more predatorial.

“Hey there babe,” he slowly looked me over, leering at every inch of me. “You're looking mighty fine.” The bear drawled the last word out as he leaned towards me, not even hiding the fact that he was staring at my breasts. Like I know they’re fake, but it’s still rude. Puckering his lips slightly, the bear continued: “Do you believe in love at first sight? Cuz’ you're a sight... to... love.” The carnivore smiled again and stroked a finger down my arm; a perverted gleam was stuck in his eye. I immediately detested the man and tried not to show my disgust.  _ It's one of those knobheads that are just looking for a cheap shag.  _ Making sure I wouldn't slap the guy, or worse, I stood up, batted my eyelashes, and gave him a fake smile.

“Sorry Hun, I don't do bears. In fact, I can  _ bear _ -ly stand them. So, apologies, and goodbye.”  _ Better to leave than stick around and lose my cover over a drunken bear.  _ I made to step away but the bear suddenly shot out his arm and successfully cornered me at the bar, one arm holding the bar counter the rest of him blocking my path. About to knock the guy out, I gasped as he shoved his face right up to mine. His breath smelled sour and I felt a bulge press against the front on my dress. My eyes widened.  _ Holy crites he’s hard.  _ He rubbed at my neck as his lust- tainted tongue said:

“Cmon girl, you know you want to. There's not a lot of girls out there like you. You gorilla girls are tough yeah?” He leaned in closer and stopped right at my ear. “I'd like to see how tough you are after you ride this dic-”

I kneed the bastard’s willy out of existence.

Instantly, the brown beast hunched over and grabbed at his now non-existent balls. Screeching in pain, I heard the bear huffing out wild and angry breaths. “Y-you bi… tch-” Club goers began to circle the bear and I in interest, everyone seems to love watching a hook up go wrong. Glaring up at me, the beat spat: “How dare you… you- you-” I put my hand on my hip, a move I see Ash do all the time.

“Gorilla.” I sassed. “Sorry mate, too tough for ya?” And with that I pushed past him and tried not to break out into a run as I made my way through the crowd. While rushing away I heard a bunch of whistling, and it was then I noticed all the lustful stares directed at me. I gulped, feeling like a fish among hungry sharks I started walking as fast as my heels would let me. Unease crept along my spine and I kept peering over my shoulder in case another animal started to come onto me. Not paying any attention to where I was going, I shouldn't have been surprised when I turned a corner and collided into a small animal. Or, more like, they ran into me and fell to the floor while I stood awkwardly in surprise.

“Oh!” I kneeled down. “I'm sorry, are you okay? I didn’ mean to-” A hand brushed away my comments and it was then I noticed the spiky quills covering the girl. Sitting up and looking drunker than an alcoholic, Ash gave me a stern look with lidded eyes .

“Youuuuu… Fael!” She announced. Staggering to her feet, Ash pouted and lightly punched me in the chest. “Yer surposed tah sound like a guurl, ya dumbshat!” I blinked.  _ Oh my god, Ash is totally smashed.  _ I felt a smirk pull at the corners of my mouth as I watched Ash gasp in surprise at the realization that she has thumbs.  _ Oh the look on her face when I tell her how dumb she acts when drunk.  _ I cleared my throat and coughed away the giggle that was bubbling up my throat.

“Uh, Ash? How… Why are you drunk? And where is Rosita and Mr. Moon?” I looked over her shoulder as if the two animals would be popping around the corner in any second. Ash buzzed her lips and crossed her arms. She gave me a suspicious stare.

“ I dorn’t know-  _ Hic _ \- but who is ass kicking?” I raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean ‘who’? It’s me! Johnny.” Ash squinted at me, swaying a bit more on her feet before middle dumbly.

“That’s what I saysss.” And with that Ash tripped over her own two feet, while standing in place, fell face first and within seconds started to snore. I reached to pinch the bridge of my nose before I remembered the layers of makeup on my face and opted for a sigh instead. My vision faded a bit at the loss of air and I my head began to spin slightly.  _ Shit, the corset… damn- slow breaths Johnny, remember what Mr. Moon said, “slow breaths as much air as you can…”  _ Having moved forward a bit and steadied myself on the wall during my momentary spout of dizziness, I relaxed my breathing and straightened up at the sound of rapid footsteps coming my way. A pink head popped into to view and I sagged in relief at the sight of Rosita as she made her way around the corner. Rosita’s started in surprise before melting into a relieved smile and rushed to me.

“Johnny!” Rosita “ Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!” Rosita’s purple dress reflecting flashes of red from the surrounding lights. Bounding over to me, her eyebrows knit in worry the instant she was at my side.

“Wait a sec- Johnny what’s wrong? You’re face looks a little pale.” I smiled softly.  _ Rosita and her mom powers.  _ Even though I had felt really ill a second ago, I was feeling better and didn’t want her to worry. Opting for humor as a strategic way to change the subject, I joked:

“You sure it’s not the makeup making me look pale? Don’t worry Rosita, I feel fine.” Rosita gave me a lengthy scrutinizing stare, as if to assure herself that I was telling the truth; She nodded.

“Okay, but I’ll check up on you again later. I want to make sure you’re doing alright.” I smiled again, this time more genuinely, and a warm fuzzy feeling buzzed through me from Rosita’s motherly affection.  _ Man, Rosita’s tot’s are lucky to have her as a mum.  _

“Sounds good.” Rosita smiled at that before her look of happiness was wiped off her face and replaced with an expression that meant business. 

“Alright,” She began. “So, after Ash, Buster and I lost you in the crowd, somehow Buster got ahold of a few drinks, and I swear-” Rosita interrupted herself a moment to roll her eyes in disbelief. “I told him not to give any to Ash because we didn’t know what was in them, I looked away for 3 seconds, and I turn around and the two of them are beyond drunk. I can’t believe them.” Rosita looked beside herself. “Anyways, I was helping Ash but then Mr. Moon disappeared and then I lost Ash.” Rosita started to fiddle with her hooves anxiously. “Have you seen either of them Johnny?” Her eyes hardened determinedly. “If someone hurts either of them-” I frowned, confused.

“Rosita, Ash is right behind me-” I turned around and to my horror found the floor empty of a snoring porcupine. I twisted around quickly, searching for signs of my prickly friend, but she was nowhere to be found. My eyes widened in bewildered astonishment. “Rosita, I swear, she was just here.” Rosita shook her head in an equally dumbfounded way.

“That girl surprises me in so many ways.” Turning around, Rosita stared back at the room she had exited from. A club version of jazz swayed out the door and the percussive noise of dancing echoed through the walls.  “Well… I suppose it’s safe to say Buster is in there somewhere.” She turned back to me, her smile turning into a frown as she looked me over. “Oh, but, I’m already forgetting why we’re here.” Rosita reached out and held my hand. “How are you doing Johnny? We came here to look for clues of your dad, but it seems we ended up looking for each other instead.” My face flushed at the attention and I rubbed the back of my head sadly. I knew she wasn’t asking how I was physically when she asked how I was.

“I’m doing alright, haven’t found anything yet but uh….”  _ I really don’t know what to look for honestly…  _ I smiled reassuringly down at Rosita. “It’s alrigh’, it’s better to find the other’s first before we can look for any clues.” Rosita furrowed her brow before smiling and murmuring in agreement, too polite to disagree.

“Yeah, well then.” Rosita turned back to the club room door. “ The sooner we find them, the sooner we can look for your dad!” 

Marching into the club room, I was momentarily overwhelmed by the amount of noise and people in the vicinity. Animals crowded the floor, men wearing costly business attire, women in scantily clad dresses, and waiters weaving about in pristine uniforms. Several larger chandeliers glowed from the ceiling, and a jazzy club song swept throughout the room and made the floor resonate with the beat. Walking uncertainly in my heels, I couldn't help but notice how many of the animals in the room were much larger and stronger than I, and also known for being carnivorous eaters. I shook my head.  _ No one is like that, in this day and age there hasn't been a case like that in years. _ Rosita turned to me, mouth open to speak. 

“Okay Johnny, so we could split up if you want or-”

“LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, PREPARED TO BE AMAZED BY THE WONDROUS SINGING TALENT OF MYSELF: BUSTER MOON.” Rosita and I blanched as we whipped around to see a certain drunk koala across the room standing on the counter at the bar. The patrons cheered as Buster began to sing the first verse of “Jolene” whereas in corner of my eye I could see some security guards whispering to themselves rapidly. I felt my heart start to beat faster.  _ Shit! If Mazus knew about Mike, they definitely know about Buster! Clue or no clue, it's time to leave! _ I felt a pang in my chest over the thought.  _ Sorry Dad, I'll just have to find you some other way.  _ Rosita had seemed to have come to the same conclusion for she headed straight to the crowd of people and started to make her way through and to Buster. Following a few steps behind, I had just gotten tangled in the crowd when I glanced back and froze. There were security guards guarding a large pristine door, and the second the guards had stepped away from the door to confront Buster, I recognized a spiky head, and surely enough, Ash popped into view. I stared in disbelief as I watched her glance around before slipping into the now unprotected door. Feeling all control of the situation slipping through my hands and exploding, I grabbed at my face in horror.  _ Ash! No! Why would she-?! Is she  _ **_trying_ ** _ to get herself killed?  _ I turned around to tell Rosita, only to realize I had lost sight of her as well. I groaned in worry, my adrenaline pumping while a feeling of dread stabbed me in the chest.  _ I need to get to Buster because then I could find Rosita, but the guards would have gotten Ash by then. But if I go to Ash I might not be able to find Rosita or Buster either. Agh! This is a nightmare. _

“Oh, god this is not good.” I mumbled to myself. Torn, I stood on the dance floor awkwardly before ultimately groaning and rushing to the door Ash had slipped into.  _ Sorry Rosita, I'll be back in a minute I swear!  _ I promised myself. 

Pushing myself through the crowd and reaching the door, I paused to make sure the coast was clear of guards. Seeing that all guards were still preoccupied with Buster, I quickly swept opened the door and stepped through, shutting the door quietly behind me. The room was dark, scarcely lit except for a single lamp. The lamp was perched on one of the only pieces of furniture in the room, a large oak desk. A cushioned leather chair sat next to the desk. Gulping nervously, I looked around uneasily for signs of Ash. 

“Ash..?” I whispered as my heels clacked against the ornate marble floor.“Where are you?” There was no reply. My heart started to beat rapidly, the blood rushing to my ears. As I drew closer to the desk I began to hear soft hiccups. Feeling braver, I quickened my pace to the desk and circled around to the heart of the desk. The source of the hiccups sat underneath the oak desk, right where the chair would be placed, curled up and falling asleep. Relief flooded through me as fast as my irritation did.

“Ash!” I whispered angrily. “You can't just walk wherever you want! A madman runs this place!” Ash opened her eyes blearily and yawned. She looked like she had no cares in the world. I frowned.  _ Blimey, what in the hell did they put in her drink? _ Ash rubbed at her eyes and said:

“I eard’... that 'tis is the… bosses… office.” I blinked and she continued. “You could… ceck the draw... ers or somefin…” I glanced back towards the door nervously, Buster’s voice could be faintly heard. He was still singing strong so I assumed the guards still haven't gotten through the crowd yet. I bit my lip the same way I always did before my dad went on a risky heist.  _ It shouldn't hurt to check for a couple minutes…  _ My resolve to find everyone and leave was crumbling fast. Ash hiccuped, “You’kno we on’t… ave anotho chance righ’?” I thought of my dad caught somewhere. Wrapped in chains, beaten and bloody, while still holding his head high. His eyes would be full of pride but deep down, I knew he wouldn't be expecting someone to save him. And that breaks my heart. I nodded down at Ash, a rush of determination flowing through me. 

“You're right, but I'm only searching for a few minutes. Then I'm grabbing you, finding everyone else, and then we're getting the hell outta here, okay?” Ash yawned sleepily at my speech which I took as a sign of agreement and I started to search the desk. 

The top of the desk held nothing but a few pens and a little notepad. I flipped through the pad quickly and was dismayed to find nothing helpful. Squatting down to search the side drawers, I winced as I felt the back of my dress rip. I whipped through the right side drawers and was running out of hope when I opened the top left drawer of the desk. 

I frowned as I picked up an old photograph, holding it so the back of the photo was facing me. The edges were frayed and blackened, as if the photo had been saved right before being caught in a bad fire. A message was written in pen on the back, and I struggled to read the faded text. 

_ “To my wonde---l friend, _

_          You always ma-- the d--s a bit br--hter. Don't eve- -top chas--- your dre-ms. _

_           With l--e, _

_                             ------” _

 

Raising an eyebrow, I flipped over the photo. 

I stopped breathing and my hands started to shake. Ash reached from the floor and set a hand on my leg, concern etched onto her face.

“Johnny, what's wrong?” I couldn't speak and merely shook my head wordlessly. My eyes couldn't look away from the picture and I felt tears start to pool down my face. Ash smacked my leg this time, looking absolutely worried and alarmed. “Johnny. You have to tell me what's wrong. is it your corstet or is it the photo?” I finally looked away and my voice quivered as I spoke.

“Ash.. I-it's… m-mom.” Tears were streaming down my face at this point. “It's m-my m-mah.” It was an older photo, probably taken 20 years ago, taken before I was born. But I've never forgotten how my mom looks. It was a photo of her sitting on chair outside; a beautiful vine wall sat behind her, and my mom was smiling in surprise to whoever was taking the photo. Ash’s face seemed to blanch at my news and she stared wide eyed at the picture. I smiled sadly, my voice dripping with emotion as I said:

“ I haven't seen her in years. Dad has no photos of her, he said he lost them all when we had moved here in the city.” I sniffed and wiped my eyes, mascara smearing my hands. “She's really pretty isn't she?” I turned to Ash and stiffened at her frightened face. “Ash? What's the matter?” Ash didn't hesitate.

“Johnny, if you lost all those pictures, then why does Mazus have it?” A cold terror punched me in the gut at the thought. Overcome with emotion, I hadn't realized the abnormality of the situation. The tightness of the corset seemed to rush onto me and I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe.

“ I-... I don't know.” I blinked rapidly, trying to regain control of my tears. “We gotta leave. Time to get the others and go.” 

 

“But why would you want to leave?” A deep sultry voice growled behind my ear. 

I gasped and whipped around.

The last thing I saw were Mazus Night’s golden glowing eyes before a sharp pain hit the back of my head and everything faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved and hated writing this chapter. I loved it because it was such a fun idea, yknow Johnny crossdressing (;D), but at the same time I had no idea where I was going to go with the story. Massive writers block, ahhhhh!!!!!
> 
> Anyways I have a better idea now of where im going, dont worry!! Thanks for all the supprt during this time, I love all the comments!! They keep me going :)
> 
>  
> 
> (also im only human and typos are a thing so tell me if you see something :) thanks!!)

**Author's Note:**

> I DONT KNOW SKATEBOARDS I JUST LOOKED UP POPULAR SKATEBOARD BRANDS AND TFC SOUNDED NEAT. I hope this first chap wasn't to sad.   
> I literally love Johnny so much. HE IS JUST A SAD GORILLA AND IS TOO KIND FR THIS WORLD. EVEN WITH ALL THE JUNK GOING ON IN HIS WORLD HE DOESNT BOTHER ANYONW WITH IT. I CANT.


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